Company OK'd for self-driving taxis in Guangzhou

Pony.ai, a leading Chinese autonomous driving technology company, has won a bid for a self-driving taxi project in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, government sources said.

After getting a permit to operate 100 driverless vehicles in Nansha, Pony.ai has become the first self-driving technology company in the country to receive a permit for commercial operation.

Passengers can hail and pay for rides on Pony.ai's online app, in Nansha's urban area of 803 square kilometers, after the company begins the taxi service in May.

The adoption of the national taxi management is a major breakthrough for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles, according to local transportation authorities.

Founded in 2016, Pony.ai has tested robotic taxis for more than 11 million kilometers, with more than 700,000 passenger trips, according to company sources.